A highly recommended place to visit in Summerland, British Columbia for the whole family of all ages and experience the unique ride that feels like a step back in time.
Disclaimer: This post was not requested, nor compensated for its publication. I paid all the expenses. All review are 100% my own.
We always make a list of what are we going to do and see when we are on a road trip to make sure everyone in the family are happy and enjoy their trip. Especially when we are on a road trip with little kids, we always make sure to include any attractions that fit for their age to enjoy. When we were in Okanagan Valley, I heard about this truly unique place that needs to be on people bucket list while visiting there. We visit Kettle Valley Steam Railway in Summerland.
You need to check the schedule first on their website before the visit. The ride is not on the hourly schedule, but it is on the specific times instead every day in spring, summer, and fall. There is also Great Train Robbery and BBQ’s, a special event on site for a great purpose. Too bad, we did not go for this special occasion, I can only imagine it must be so much fun to experience this event.
We drive to get there in about 25 minutes from where we stayed in Penticton. Once you arrive in Summerland, look for the sign of Kettle Valley Steam Railway and follow the trail with the KVR sign.We arrive 30 minutes early, so we can enjoy the place for ourselves first before it gets crowdy.
We purchased the ticket for the ride at 1.30 pm. We have enough time for lunch before going onboard and wait for our trip in a unique seating area. We have time to explore and of course taking pictures of the train while waiting for the crew to take us onboard. We choose to sit in the closed cabin this time. We were in the open cabin before when my youngest was still a toddler. It is not the first time for us to ride this train, but we always have the best experience all the time.
Once we are onboard, the crew will give us the brief story about the train that is back into the gold and coal mine history. One of the crew will distribute the observation list paper for kids so that they will have an activity during the ride. We found everything listed on the paper. Kids were so excited when they see the objects around the trail. It is like a scavenger hunt for them.
The train is going to follow the railway through the valley. The view was fantastic for sure. A little bit of smoke due to forest fire, but it did not affect the attraction. We passed through these orchards, vineyards, residentials, cliff, and the train stop before the bridge.
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Once we stop by the bridge, the train crew explain us the history related to the bridge. We stay there for around 10 minutes, and we are allowed to get off the train for sightseeing, enjoy the freshly picked fruits there and of course picture time. Then we were heading back to the train station. One of the many exciting things is you will see lots of peoples waved their hands to us when the train passed them.
Ride the train in the closed cabin is fun for sure, but I would recommend you to try to get the seat in the open cabin. The breeze and the view will be so much better. What I saw there, lots of people got their seat in the open cabin, so if you would like to get one, you need to book the ticket earlier. You could book it online through their website.
From what I understand about the Great Train Robbery and BBQ’s, it is supposed to be so much fun to experience it. There will be some actors ride horses that act like a real robbery and get on the train. The money they collected will go toward charity. The event will be last for a few hours and continue with the barbeque for everyone who involves in the event.
Once you finish the train ride, you can continue to visit some vineyards in the area and do wine tasting. If you don’t have any plan to visit the winery, then it always a good idea to go back to the beach, eat some ice cream and enjoy the sunset.
For more details of Kettle Valley Steam Railway about admission, hours, events, visit the website here.
Hey Ina from BTC!
I LOVE TRAINS!!! This sounds like something that would be so much fun! Thanks for a good job whetting my appetite to go! Maybe sometime I’ll get up to Canada and enjoy this train ride.
Blessings,
Cindy, DIY Bohemian
Hi, Cindy, thank you for stopping by, you will love this train ride, I hope you can visit there soon!
That train ride looked like tons of fun! Scavenger Hung included too cool! Pinned this for future travel ideas.
It is fun thing for sure! it is so cool, right?! Great idea for kids!
I love finding things to do that are close to home. Thank you for sharing this. We have two little grandsons who love trains. If we are ever in the area, we will be sure to visit there!
It always surprising that there actually lots of fun things to see and do for family close to home! I hope you can make it here soon with little ones!
Sounds like the perfect day! Trai Trains and wine😁
It is, there is something for everyone to enjoy, hehe
This looks like an adventure that my family would definitely enjoy! I like your pictures, some of which sjow a nostalgia and some of which are lovely. Thank yoi for sharing about Kettle Valley Steam Train.
It does perfect for family adventure! Thank you for enjoying the pictures, I do my best to show its beauty of this classic train!
Looks like so much fun! Great for kids!
It was fun, kids and adult love this attractions!
Looks fun, and I love the observation list – great idea to keep little ones busy.
It is, I thought that is smart to keep the little one busy and enjoy it!
When my kids were young we used to love a train trip! This sounds like fun.
How fun it was! I am sure they have the sweet memories from these trips!
I, too, LOVE trains! Sounds like this tour was great! So informative! Thanks for sharing! Great post!
Thank you, it was great for sure!
What a fun train ride, and I love the wine tasting option at the end! Thanks for sharing!
It was fun for sure, oh you will love these wine spot around the area, there is endless choice as it is the best spot for wineries there!
My husband and I work for a railroad so our kids naturally love trains. This would be a fun trip for all of us. Plus I like the nostalgic feel of the older trains.
What an awesome job you guys have. It must be a fun one! Yes the older train is so cool for sure!
That sounds like a cool experience, and I love that they give the observation sheets! I need to make my own observation sheets for car rides!
It did very cool one, I love the idea for the car too! Kids will be excited for car ride!
Oh, I love this! When the boys were younger, they LOVED trains, so we would visit museums and the like whenever we traveled. Great piece!
It is a great one! Classic and educative!
What an awesome trip. I love trains – I loved the little search game they had for the games, I would have even played it. Glad you guys had fun!
We did had so much fun! The search game is a great idea for kids to enjoy the ride even more!
This looks like a fantastic day. I love the idea of giving children an observation sheet to do.
It does, the observation keep them engaged with the ride.
This looks like a great family friendly activity! My kids would love it! The train robbery ride sounds like a lot of fun. We are always on the look out for fun things to stop and do while on a road trip, too!
It does sounds like fun, I will try it for next trip for sure. It’s a perfect attraction for kids and family.
What a fun trip! I went on a trip like this with my grandparents as a kid, and I loved! Looks like you are making great memories!
I think I did, hehe. A great memory always happen when we were a kid, I hope my kids always remember this trip.
This sounds like so much fun!! And what a view you get with that train ride!
I also love trains! This look like a beautiful ride…and so full of history! Thanks for sharing Ina.
Thank you, the history made the ride memorable.
Looks like a fun and very educating family trip. My son is fascinated with trains and I hope for him to see one up close and to actually ride one. This is such a perfect guide for those who want to visit the place, so helpful and detailed. Keep sharing!
Thank you, I do my best for the details, he will love this train ride for sure, it’s a real unique train unlike the modern one.
What a wonderful experience for the kids and the whole family. Trains are a weakness of mine so I enjoyed reading your post very much.
Thank you for reading it, I appreciate it, kids had a blast with this fun ride!
So much fun! If we ever travel to Canada, we’re definitely going here! Thanks for sharing.
Oh yes please, you will love this place for sure!
My son is obsessed with trains, so wherever we go, we check to see if there are railway stations around. He would love this!
Lovely, make sure you visit this place whenever you go to BC!
This looks like so much fun! I am pinning this to my Dream Vacations board so that I can take my kiddos if we are ever in that part of the world.
It does fun things to do for family! I hope you can make it here soon! Thank you for pinning!
This looks like so much fun! I can’t wait to take my son to train events when he gets a little bigger.
It was so much fun for sure! He will love the train too!
Trains are so much fun! Thanks for sharing this.
It does! Great for entertaining and education!
This looks so fun for both kids and adults! I love that they have an observation sheet for the kids to be entertained throughout the ride! Very cool!
It does very cool! Even hubby who love machine enjoy this ride too and we help the kids with the observation sheet!
That looks like a very fun place for everyone! If I ever make it up.to Canada, will have to check it out! Great post!
Thank you, oh yes please, there is so much things to see and do here, I hope you can make it here soon!
Looks like a fun trip! I haven’t been on a train in far too long.
It was fun for sure. It is not like riding a car!
This is great! We just did a train weekend in Pennsylvania! It’s such a great thing for a family.
It does, right? It is not everyday we see a classic train, it is definitely worth it for a family activity!
I adore trains! We just rode a similar train a few weeks ago…they offer a variety of different rides throughout the year. On this particular ride, we spotted Bigfoot FOUR TIMES…I’ve got to blog about it quick…
OMG, for real? bigfoot? Or just the things that similar like one, now I am curious, lol, I can’t wait to read your story!